The Kurti–Trump meeting challenges the “anti-Americanism” narrative and weakens Grenell’s political role

Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti held his first meeting with United States President Donald Trump on September 22, during the High-Level Week of the UN General Assembly in New York. The Prime Minister’s Office announced the meeting on October 2.

Kurti said that during the conversation he had thanked Trump for increasing investment in defense within NATO. He stressed that Kosovo aims to become part of the alliance and described the United States as Kosovo’s “principal ally, irreplaceable partner and special friend.”

Publicist Fadil Lepaja considers the meeting an important moment for Kosovo’s diplomacy, particularly for presenting and defending the country’s interests on the international stage. In a statement to “Bota sot,” he said that every meeting between a Kosovo official and the US president represents an important lobbying opportunity.

According to Lepaja, such contact can serve to promote Kosovo’s aspirations to join international organizations, with a focus on NATO and the UN, as well as to become involved in the new developments influencing the creation of a new international order.

the publicist believes the meeting should also be interpreted within the framework of the stable relations between Kosovo and the United States, which, he said, do not depend on political changes in either country.

Lepaja also views this development as a success for Kurti’s government. He says the meeting conveys the message that, geopolitically, neither Kosovo nor the United States has any ambiguity about their relationship, emphasizing that Kosovo has consistently relied on the United States and received strong support from it.

He added that the bond between Kosovo and the United States extends beyond the mandates of governments or the figures currently in power.

According to him, regardless of who leads the United States or Kosovo, the friendship between a superpower and a small but dignified country in the Western alliance remains strong and unwavering. Lepaja contrasts this situation with Kosovo’s northern neighbors, who, he says, face deep geopolitical dilemmas and divisions.

In his analysis, Lepaja also links the Kurti–Trump meeting to political clashes within Kosovo. He recalls that for years Kurti and the Vetëvendosje Movement have been accused of anti-American positions, claims that, according to him, lacked a solid basis and were based mainly on statements by a former senior official of the previous Trump administration, whose role has changed in the current administration.

Referring to former US envoy Richard Grenell, the publicist argues that the meeting in New York, including its duration, diminishes the weight of earlier statements portraying Prime Minister Kurti as problematic in his relations with Washington. According to him, this development discredits the statements made by Grenell and his associates in Albanian and Kosovar political parties and media outlets.

Lepaja believes the meeting could also have an impact if Kosovo goes to the polls again. He says such a development would weaken the voice of Grenell’s supporters in Kosovo and could discourage the “Grenellists” in the LDK from opposing the agreement on the president.

In conclusion, the publicist describes the meeting as a development that directly affects the political weight of this group. According to Lepaja, the Kurti–Trump meeting removes from the political arena the card and the group still led by former envoy Richard Grenell.